Kitchen Cabinet Handles: Knobs vs T-Bars vs Cup Pulls, Sizing and Spacing
Atelier De LuxeKitchen Cabinet Handles: Knobs vs T-Bars vs Cup Pulls, Sizing and Spacing
Kitchen cabinet handles are touched more often than any other hardware in the home, yet they are frequently the last decision in a renovation. Chosen well, they bring proportion and polish to the whole room. Chosen hastily, they can make even fine joinery look unconsidered. This guide explains how to choose kitchen cabinet handles in three practical steps: selecting the right type, sizing it correctly, and positioning it with precision.
Step One: Choose the Type
Most kitchens draw on three main styles of brass cabinet handle, each with a distinct character.
Cabinet knobs
A knob is fixed with a single screw, which makes it the simplest handle to fit and the easiest to replace. Knobs suit cabinet doors particularly well, where only a light pull is needed, and they bring a traditional or transitional feel. Solid brass cabinet knobs are available in a wide range of profiles — from plain domes to knurled, floral and ring designs. Browse our brass cabinet knobs.
Best for: wall-unit and base-unit doors, small drawers, in-frame and Shaker kitchens.
T-bar handles
A T-bar is a straight bar supported on two posts, fixed with two screws. It offers a confident grip, works on both doors and drawers, and suits contemporary and transitional kitchens equally well. Brass T-bar handles are particularly effective where you want a single handle style used consistently throughout the room. See our brass T-bar handles.
Best for: drawers of every width, tall larder doors, kitchens where one handle style runs throughout.
Cup pulls
A cup pull is a curved hood, gripped from beneath with the fingertips. It is the classic drawer handle of English country and in-frame kitchens, and it pairs naturally with knobs on the doors. Brass cup pulls in an antique finish are especially at home on painted cabinetry. Explore our brass cup pulls.
Best for: drawers in traditional, in-frame and heritage kitchens.
Combining types
Combining handle types is perfectly acceptable — knobs on doors and cup pulls or T-bars on drawers is a long-established pairing. The rule is to keep every piece in the same finish, so that the variation reads as deliberate. Our guide to mixing metal finishes in a kitchen covers what to do when other metals enter the room.
Step Two: Size It Correctly
Two-screw handles are sized by their centres — the distance between the two fixing holes, measured centre to centre. A reliable guide is to choose a handle whose centres are roughly one-third of the drawer width.
| Drawer width | Suggested centres | Suitable styles |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 300mm | 64–96mm, or a single knob | Knob, cup pull, short T-bar |
| 400–500mm | 128–160mm | T-bar, cup pull |
| 600mm | 192mm | T-bar, or two cup pulls |
| 800mm and wider | 256–320mm, or two handles | Long T-bar, or a pair of cup pulls |
On doors, handles are fitted vertically, and 96–128mm centres sit comfortably in the hand on most kitchen doors. Knobs on doors have no centres to consider — their position is all that matters. Before ordering replacements, measure the centres of your existing handles: if the new handles match, they will fit the existing holes.
Step Three: Position It Precisely
Where to install cabinet hardware on doors
- Base units: fit the handle at the top corner, on the opening side of the door.
- Wall units: fit the handle at the bottom corner, on the opening side.
- Knobs: as a guide, set them around 50mm in from both edges of the corner. On Shaker doors, centre them on the stile and align with the top or bottom rail.
- Tall larder doors: position a long T-bar at a comfortable hand height, usually aligned with the top of the base units.
Where to install cabinet hardware on drawers
- Centre handles horizontally on every drawer front.
- On shallow drawers, centre them vertically as well.
- On deep pan drawers, position the handle in the upper third, or align it with the handles on the drawers beside it so that one continuous line runs across the run of units.
How to Install Cabinet Handles Neatly
- Use a cabinet hardware jig. A jig sets the same position on every door and drawer, so a whole kitchen of handles lines up exactly. It is the single most useful tool for this job.
- Mark and drill from the front to avoid splintering the visible face, with a piece of scrap timber clamped behind the panel.
- Fit the screws from inside the cabinet into the back of the handle.
- Tighten until firm, but do not overtighten, especially on thinner doors.
For a fuller walk-through, see our guide on how to install cabinet hardware.
How Many Handles Will You Need?
Count every door and drawer front, then add any wide drawers that will take two handles. A typical UK kitchen of fifteen to twenty units needs between twenty and thirty handles in total. Ordering one or two spares is sensible, should a handle ever need replacing in future.
Choose Solid Brass Cabinet Handles
Solid brass is a single material throughout, so it cannot chip or peel as plated handles do. It is weighty in the hand, ages gracefully, and suits every kitchen style from traditional to contemporary. Every handle at Atelier De Luxe is solid brass, and our range spans cabinet knobs, T-bar handles, cup pulls and knurled hardware. Orders are dispatched within 48 hours, delivery is free on orders over £100, and trade pricing is available for designers and contractors.
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